The present invention relates to a punch for opening passages between two compartments. Such a tool is in particular suitable in cardiac surgery and cardiology as a cardiac catheter. The invention will be described in connection with said use, however it is not restricted to same.
In cardiac surgery it is very often essential to form passages between various compartments which are blocked. This applies in general for the transfer in each of the arteries and chambers of the heart between same and at their outlet when they are blocked. This is, for example, very important in opening the inter-atrial septum of babies with transposition of the great arteries. Moreover, this is very important in the production of such a passage having a well defined hole in a graft in the heart or at the wall of the artery.
There are known surgical means and methods for the opening of such passages, e.g. the balloon method of Rashkind et al., JAMA 1966; 196; 991-2.
However, all said known devices and methods require rather complicated surgical means and methods. These means and methods are not satisfactory and the mortality rate in some of the operations to be performed with them is quite high, e.g. 47% in the surgery of opening of the inter atrial septum of babies.
It has therefore been desirable to design means which overcome the above drawbacks. Said means should be relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture and be safe and simple to use.